Friday, July 29, 2005

Turkish Style French Toast

(Yumurtali Ekmek)

Cut the loaf in slices about 1 inch thick. Beat the eggs in a deep bowl. Dip in both sides of the bread, but don't soak too much as the inside of the bread slice shouldn't be too wet.

Pour the oil in a large frying pan. Wait until the oil heats up, then fry both sides of each slice at medium-high heat until the colour turns to light gold brown. Upon removing, place on a paper towel to soak up any extra oil.

Serve the bread with feta cheese, black olives and Turkish tea for breakfast.

Place the chicken breasts in a medium size pot and cover with water. Cook until its tender at medium heat. Remove the chickens and keep the chicken broth.

As for the bread, make sure it is stale (ie. leave out overnight), remove the crusts and soak the rest in the chicken broth. Take out, squeeze with your palms and place in a large bowl. Then cut the chicken into small pieces and add into the bowl along with the garlic, salt and pepper. Mix very well with a fork into an even consistency. Add the walnuts and mix again. If the mixture is too dry, slowly add and mix some chicken broth with a tablespoon until softer.

Place in a serving platter and shape with a fork. Heat the sunflower oil in a small skillet and add the red peppers. When the oil starts bubbling, turn the heat off and pour over the chicken.

Serve this chicken dish as an appetizer with small, toasted bread slices.

Mix all the ingredients together with your hands. Make a fist-sized ball and skewer it. Squeeze it on the skewer so that it thins and lengthens to acquire the shape shown in the picture. Cook on a grill. You can also barbecue tomatoes and green peppers on the side.

Serve with pita bread. Adana Kebab will taste better if you prepare the meat in advance and keep it refrigerated overnight.

Roasted Eggplant:
Before putting in the oven, make holes on the eggplant with a fork so that it will soften and cook better. Then place eggplant an oven tray and roast for about 25 minutes on broil. Alternatively, you can barbecue it until softened. Then peel it, remove any hard seeds. After draining, cut into small pieces with a knife.

Toss all the salad ingredients. Place on a serving platter. Drizzle a little bit extra virgin olive oil all over, serve with the toasted bread or pide slices.

Place 4 cups of water in a large pot along with the barley. Bring to boil at high heat. Then as soon as it boils, turn it down to medium-low heat and cook for about half an hour. Add the beans, chickpeas, vanilla, apricots, raisins, figs, sugar and 6 cups of hot water. Cook for about 45 minutes at medium-low heat. Stir occasionally. Pour into a large service bowl and let cool.

This recipe is one of the oldest and best known desserts of Turkish Cuisine. Its original name is "Aşure". When we cook Aşure, it is traditional to give some away to friends and family.

5000 years ago in Mesopotamia, Noah was King of the city Shuruppak. His was a trade empire, and he built a large trading ship. At that time, there was a raging flood and rainstorm. He and his family loaded animals, grain, fruit and beer on board. The rain continued for 40 days. Afterwards there was no land in sight for 7 days. They ran out of drinking water and since the sea was salty, they had to resort to drinking beer. They eventually landed on Mount Ararat.

The old saying goes that Noah's food was about to run out. He mixed and cooked all that he had left. The result became known as "Noah's Pudding". Turkish people love Aşure and there is even an Aşure Month.

Wash the fava. Trim both ends and shave along the sides with a knife. Place in the water with lemon juice so that the colour of the fava won't be dark later.

Saute the onions with half of the olive oil in a medium-sized pot. Place the fava, 1 cup of lemon water and the remaining ingredients above in the pot. If needed, add the second cup of lemon water. Cook for about 20-25 minutes on medium-low heat with the lid half covered. Place on a serving dish and pour the remaining olive oil on top and garnish with the remaining fresh dill. Let cool before putting in the fridge.

Friday, July 01, 2005

Turkish Coffee

(Türk Kahvesi)

Put the sugar into the coffeepot first, then add the coffee. Fill the Turkish Coffee cup with water at room temperature, although leave a bit of room at the top. Pour into the coffeepot.

Turn the heat to low. Place the coffeepot on the stove and slowly stir with a small spoon to ensure the coffee mixes in with the water. Then stop and wait until bubbles form at the top. When the bubbles rise, take the coffeepot off the stove and pour into the cup & serve.

The grinds will sink to the bottom of your cup, don't drink this part. The grinds are darker and thicker.

~~ Mustic Turkish Coffee ~~
Mix well one-chickpea size mastic (roll glass on the mastic to make it powdery or use mortar) and 100 g grounded Turkish coffee; Store in a tightly closed jar for 1-2 days before starting to cook:)
~~~

It can be difficult to find authentic Turkish coffee near where you live, but you can always order some from Amazon - this is the brand I use at home. Amazon also sells cezve and Turkish coffee cups.

“Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.” famous old Turkish Proverb refers to Turkish Coffee:)

A cup of Turkish coffee is endowed with a variety of important connotations for Turks: friendship, affection and sharing. This is best illustrated in the old saying: "A single cup of coffee can create a friendship that lasts for 40 years". Turkish coffee is such an intrinsic part of Turkish culture that it has given its name to the word for breakfast, "kahvaltı", which translates as "before coffee", and is derived from the words "kahve" (coffee) and "altı" (before).